Real Enemies

Normally, conspiracy theories are the preserve of the deluded and the paranoid, but every once in a while a story will emerge which makes you wonder whether our governments really do want what’s best for us. Whistleblowers like Edward Snowden and Julian Assange have made it plausible that there are goings-on behind the scenes that do not stand up to scrutiny. What should and should we not believe? How do these conspiracy theories emerge? These are the questions which Real Enemies sets out to explore.

The music in Real Enemies will be performed by big-band collective Secret Society, whose Brooklyn Babylon made a big impression at the 2013 Holland Festival. Real Enemies combines an exhilarating score by Secret Society’s band leader Darcy James Argue with impressive projections, designed by Peter Nigrini. The script and direction connecting music and video are by Isaac Butler. 

Butler's script comprises twelve chapters, dealing with various conspiracy theories in post-war American history, ranging from JFK's murder to the theory that Clinton, Bush and Obama are aliens. Nigrini's projections are a virtuoso 'polyphony' of video and sound footage cast onto fifteen screens, spinning a web of suspicion and paranoia. In the middle of the stage sits a giant clock, counting down to doomsday. As time elapses, the audience is sucked into increasingly bizarre but nonetheless gripping conspiracy theories. 

Argue's music plays an important part in this process. Inspired by the 12 numbers on the clock's dial, he has created a twelve-tone series which he employs in horror movie style. Besides the ‘film score’ sections, Argue introduces elements from a range of musical styles, from big-band jazz to South-American music, hiphop and minimalism. Characterised by the hypnotic, ominous effect of the pulsating repetitions, the music gradually becomes more forceful and intense. In perfect tandem with the imagery, the audience is seduced to go along with the increasingly bizarre conspiracy theories. 

The makers of Real Enemies are all perfectly rational, somewhat sceptical human beings. So is the average audience at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, where the piece premiered in 2015. And so are the people visiting the Holland Festival. In a blog, Butler points out that it's not his or any of the other makers' intention to expose all conspiracy theorists as ridiculous, half-witted freaks from the tinfoil hat brigade. Rather, they've set out to explore and demonstrate the psychology behind conspiracy thinking. During the creative process, they found that they themselves were getting increasingly receptive to conspiracy theories. Moreover, some past conspiracy theories proved to be true. Staging their multimedia performance, Butler, Argue and Nigrini hope to encourage the audience to think for themselves about what is true and what is not – which is only possible if you do not dismiss conspiracy theorists out of hand. 

All in all, Real Enemies offers not only some very topical political and psychological ideas, but also an innovative multimedia experiment, performed by one of the best and most adventurous big bands in the world.